Green Light installed four backyard vegetable garden beds and 2 rain barrels at Little Professor Day Care in Central City in December 2019. The garden build was initiated by Shelly Dolan, a nurse educator at LSUHealth in New Orleans. “Children, who do not regularly consume diets rich with fresh fruits and vegetables, suffer negative consequences that encompass many parts of their live. Reducing nutritional health disparities in children should be a priority. The implementation, cultivation, and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables from a backyard garden at a childcare center can be one of the best practices with the greatest impact for change,” she stated in her garden application. Green Light applied to the Fairlife Grant Program and was granted funding for the project. The garden beds are set up in a part of the backyard that receives 6 hours of sunlight even in the winter months. Four 4’x4′ beds are sufficient to provide some healthy food while not being intimidating or requiring hours of maintenance. Adding the rain barrels to the project makes sense because there is no water source close to the gardens. The barrels will provide 100 gallons of free water to the day care and retain rain water.

Why we like the project:

The children will be involved in watering, planting and harvesting. For many of them it will be their first gardening experience. Students of the nursing school will support “Little Professor” with the upkeep of the garden.  Running a day care is a lot of work and the staff will not have the capacity to deal with pests and basic upkeep of the garden. Green Light will offer knowledge and advice.

Why we like the funder:

Fairlife offers a milk product for people who are lactose intolerant and can’t enjoy plant-based alternatives.